This Bug's Love Life
by canadianfan1984
Summary: Bug is a lonely soul who has eyes only for Lily, but what happens when a woman who Woody wants, crosses his path? Don't worry the ending will be one everyone will be happy about! Chapter ELEVEN Now Added!
1. Another Day, Another Autopsy

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow! My first non-General Hospital fic!

DISCLAIMER – I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 1 – Another Day, Another Autopsy

Monday mornings were the busiest times for the Boston Medical Examiner's Office. Files building up over the weekend, lab results coming in, and autopsies were being finished. It was a seven day a week job, but Dr. Mahesh Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy, or "Bug" as he was commonly referred to by his colleagues, didn't mind, it's not like he was like his colleagues and had a personal life. His personal life seems to be the first topic of conversation in his phone calls with his mother, he remembered the phone conversation he had with his mother the other night, like the beginning of every phone conversation he always starts out saying the same things:

"Hi." Was always the first thing he said.

"Yes it's Heshy." Was always the second.

And "No, no girls yet." Was always the third.

_No girls yet._ That was the thought that dominated his mind days after each conversation. Of course Bug always has had his eyes on that one girl, resident grief counsellor Lily Lebowski. He never thought of Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh as one to have eyes for, he let Detective Woodrow "Woody" Hoyt and Dr. Nigel Townsend drool over her. But Lily, innocent, smart, attractive Lily. It bothered Bug to think that his own boss Dr. Garret Macy had a more romantic relationship with Lily than he ever did.

This particular Monday morning Bug had no clue what was going on, all he knew was that he and Nigel were to head to the docks to meet up with Detective Woody Hoyt to investigate a possible murder involving a French cargo ship. Bug never liked fieldwork, he rather enjoyed running tests and help to give closure to those who have lost loved ones due to unexplainable circumstances.

"And what do we have today Woodrow?" asked Nigel.

"Male. Twenty-five years old. He was found in the cargo container over there. There was only one piece of identification, a passport. His name was Jean-François Deneuve." stated Woody.

"Any idea as to why he was in the cargo container in the first place?" asked Bug.

"Nope. None of us here on the scene can't ask any questions until we get one of the Boston Port Authority's translators here." explained Woody.

"Maybe you should have paid attention in French class eh Woodrow?" said Nigel as he was snapping pictures of the scene.

"Maybe you could help me with solving this case Nigel." responded Woody.

Bug was glad that Nigel was working on this case with him. Bug never felt comfortable working on cases with Woody, they always butted heads on theories and Bug was jealous by the way that Woody could get any woman he wanted, even Lily.

"Detective Hoyt, gentlemen. I'm Lloyd Bender, director of International Relations for the Boston Port Authority, and this is Samuel Hanover, one of our translators." said the man who interrupted Bug's thoughts.

"Hello, Mr. Bender, Mr Hanover. These are Drs. Townsend and Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy from the Medical Examiner's office." replied Woody. Bug was somewhat impressed that Woody decided to introduce him and Nigel by their proper names.

Woody asked all of those who were on the cargo ship questions through the translator, although Bug could tell that the Mr. Samuel Hanover had a hard time translating what the men recall. He could tell that maybe Mr. Hanover was hired to translate another language, somewhat close to French but different none the less. Bug strayed away from Woody's questioning, and ran into Mr. Lloyd Bender.

"Mr. Bender do you realise that your translator is mixing some French words with Spanish words?" asked Bug.

"I know, but our regular translator decided to go on vacation for a few days. But they'll be back with someone to identify the man that was found in the cargo container. Doctor, the Boston PD already know that our regular French translator is away. But thank you for your concern in this investigation." replied Lloyd.

"Hey Bug we've got to get going here. The sooner we can get this autopsy performed, the sooner we can go for tea." interjected Nigel.

Back at the Medical Examiner's Office...

Finding the cause of death for Jean – François Deneuve was harder than he or Nigel thought. Was it murder? Or was it from natural causes? There were no physical indicators of foul play and there were no chemical indicators of foul play either. It would have to be another day until Bug and Nigel found out what Jean – François Deneuve died from, but it would take even longer to find out why he was in that cargo container.

Tuesday mornings were usually better than Monday mornings, just for the simple fact that everyone was a little less grumpy. As Bug was walking off the elevator, Woody confronted him and told him that there was a next of kin for Jean – François Deneuve in the conference room with the proper Boston Port Authority translator. Bug put his things away in the office that he shared with others and got Woody up to date with the preliminary findings that Nigel and he discovered in the autopsy. When Bug and Woody reached the conference room, Woody looked through the window only have a quick reaction which led to his back pressed against the wall, as if he saw a crime being committed. Woody made a move to suggest he was going to pull out his gun, instead he was wiping his hands on his pants and then licked his palms and ran them through his hair.

"So what are you getting all worked up for?" asked a bewildered Bug.

"In there, that woman, is Sandra O'Leary." explained Woody.

"Sandra who?" replied Bug.

"The woman of my dreams. After her break up with former Boston Bruins left winger Joe Hayward, she's been on a non-stop look for commitment. She's gone out with almost the entire Bruins team, almost the whole Boston PD, and rumour has it she's even dated Ben Affleck."

"So when you mean 'almost the whole Boston PD', it means every single guy but you?"

"Ha, ha Bug."

"Well gents, I see our distraught next of kin have arrived." said Nigel. "Blimey, would you take a look of that bird that's with that man in there."

And with that they all looked through the window to see medium height, slim twenty-something brunette, wearing a white blouse and short black skirt, conversing with an older, bigger, balder gentlemen.

"After me gentlemen." proclaimed Woody as they walked into the conference room.

"Good morning Detective Hoyt. This is Henri Deneuve, father of Jean-François Deneuve." greeted Sandra.

"Ms. O'Leary, Mr. Deneuve, these are Drs. Nigel Townsend and Mahesh Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy."

Ms. O'Leary quickly translated to Monsieur Deneuve what Woody was asking and translated to him what Nigel and Bug found in the autopsy. Just as Bug was about to reveal that they had not found a cause of death yet, Nigel gave everyone a shock.

"Ms. O'Leary love, would you kindly tell Monsieur Deneuve that his son died as a result of a congestive heart defect." proclaimed Nigel. Bug felt like a fool, he knew that if he had continued with the autopsy he would have found that congestive heart defect.

"Merci beaucoup docteur. Mon fils ecrivait cet lettre avant il mort." said Henri Deneuve as he slid the piece of paper across the table to Woody, Nigel and Bug.

"Sandra you'll need to read this because we all know I don't know any French." stated Woody.

"Papa, Maman and tout de ma famille. Pour pleusiers ans..." started Sandra, "Oh je m'excuse, I should have started in English, please give me a second."

A little smile grew across Bug's face, he thought it was cute that Sandra began speaking in the beautiful French language instead of immediately beginning to translate in English. Woody and Nigel gave each other looks as they watched the interpretor intently read the letter. A look of shock suddenly came across her face, and suddenly tears, and when Henri Deneuve saw those tears he began to shed some tears. Bug lunged to the box of tissues that was at the one side of the conference room.

"What did the letter say?" asked Bug as he sat down next to Sandra. He then looked up to Woody who had a somewhat angry look on his face.

"It says that 'for many years I felt like I didn't belong. I didn't belong in this family, I didn't belong in this country and I didn't belong in this body. I don't belong.' Isn't that the saddest, most heart wrenching thing you've ever heard?" asked a very tearful and emotional Sandra.

"I know how he felt, believe me." replied Bug, "Did Jean-François indicate in his letter what, if any, his intentions were? How he was going to end his life?"

"He writes: 'I know my father is a sailor, that's why I've never known him, he probably doesn't know I exist. He will know I exist when he finds me aboard one of his cargo ships.' He goes on to write that 'now more than ever I want to die, especially since I know that I have a heart defect that will do the job for me. Without any medical attention immediately this condition will help me reach the end once and for all.' "

"Suicide." said a quiet Nigel.

"I'm sorry that I'm so emotional gentlemen. This is the first time I've ever had to do this." stated Sandra.

"It's all right Sandi. We've all had to go through this before." said a comforting Woody.

"Voulez-vous un boire d'eau ou de jus, ou de café?" asked Bug to both Monsieur Deneuve, and Ms. O'Leary.

"Non, merci." responded Monsieur Deneuve.

"Yes a glass of water would be nice. Thank you Doctor." responded Ms. O'Leary.

"Bloody 'ell I didn't know our little Bug knew another language." stated Nigel.

"And he's showing me up right in front of Sandi." replied Woody.

As soon as Monsieur Deneuve and Sandra O'Leary left the Boston Medical Examiner's office, Nigel and Woody confronted Bug about his behaviour in the conference room.

"Since when did you speak French?" asked a persistent Woody.

"I have time on my hands, why not let it go to some use." explained Bug.

"Remind me next time I go to Montreal to bring you chum." said Nigel.

"Bug, you can speak French?" asked Lily as she came down the hall and into their conversation. "That is the greatest thing ever, because I'm planning on a little trip to Paris and I am having such a hard time learning the language through those books on tape. I wonder if you could help me some time."

Bug stood there flustered, now this was his chance to finally be with his one, his only, Lily.


	2. Forget This, Let's Go To The Pogue

AUTHOR'S NOTE - Thank you **screwydame** and **missymeghan** for your positive and motivational reviews. And thank you **screwydame** for promoting my story on your story "London After Midnight", I really appreciate it and can't wait for a new chapter for that story!

DISCLAIMER –– I do not own characters appearing on ""Crossing Jordan""

Chapter 2 - Forget This, Let's Go To The Pogue

Bug arrived at Lily's apartment the next evening with French conversation books in hand. For as long as he could remember, Bug had wanted to spend an evening alone with Lily. This was a great opportunity for him to get to know Lily more. They sat down on her big comfy couch.

"So how do you say 'can I have a drink of water'?" asked Lily.

"Puis-j'avoir un boire d'eau." replied Bug.

"Puis - j'avoir un boire d'eau." said Lily.

"Good, so what other phrases do you want to know?"

"How about, 'have a nice day'."

"Vous avez un bon journey."

"Vous avez un bon journey."

Bug couldn't believe this, here Lily was, listening and repeating every word that came out of his mouth. He knew it wasn't a dream and he was positively glowing. He knew that it wouldn't lead anywhere, especially since Lily was still hung up on Garret. Bug couldn't understand why Lily would want Garret Macy, he was divorced and he was somewhat seeing District Attorney Renee Walcott. Bug knew that Garret knew that Lily still had feelings for him, but what Bug couldn't understand was why would Garret see DA Walcott if he knew it would hurt Lily?

"Hey Bug, what's another phrase that you think I should know before I go?" asked Lily.

"Je t'aime." said Bug without any thought.

"What does that mean?" asked Lily.

At this point Bug was absolutely surprised that he just said 'I Love You' to Lily Lebowski, the woman that kept him up at night, the woman who had stolen his heart. Bug had to think of something fast, he didn't want Lily to know that he just said that he loved her.

"Uh, in English 'je t'aime' means 'this is good'." said Bug as he was lying to Lily.

"Je t'aime. I think I can remember that one." said Lily, then she looked at her watch. "You know let's forget this for tonight and let's head on down to the Pogue."

Bug was crushed when he heard that Lily wanted to finish learning French so early in the night, there's so much more he could have taught her, but she wanted to call it quits. He basically wanted to spend more time with her that he otherwise wouldn't have.

"So do you want to go to the Pogue?" asked Lily.

"I guess so." said Bug rather sadly.

"Cheer up Bug. You never know, Nigel could be there." replied Lily.

_You never know, Nigel could be there._ What exactly was that? Bug and Nigel weren't joined at the hip, just because they worked together it didn't mean they were the best of friends. Bug was very quiet on the ride over to the Pogue with Lily. He still couldn't believe that Lily would say such things or just hurt him so, but then of course Lily didn't realize that she hurt Bug's feelings.

When Bug and Lily arrived at the Pogue, Lily immediately gravitated towards Garret who was sitting at the bar with Jordan and Woody. Bug didn't see Nigel, so he got a beer and headed to a table somewhere where no one could see he was alone, no one that he expected to see him at least.

"Hi Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy, did you know that your grief counselor said 'I love you' to a beer? Now I thought people in Saskatchewan said that." said the slim brunette standing infront of him.

"Yeah, I kind of taught her french, she thinks it means 'this is good'. Ms. O'Leary please have a seat."offered Bug.

"Why thank you Doctor. When I saw Woody Hoyt at the bar, I knew I had to hide. Oh and it's Sandra by the way." said Sandra.

"So do you frequent here often?"asked Bug.

"Not since I stopped dating police officers." replied Sandra with a laugh. "So why are you here by yourself?"

"It's just the thing I do, drink by myself." replied Bug.

"Now don't say that, you shouldn't drink by yourself, alcohol is meant to be drunken with more than one person. Trust me." said Sandra.

Bug was in total awe of this woman who decided to strike up a conversation with him, no one woman has ever done that to him before. He was eager to see where this would all lead if anywhere.

"So why are you all alone here Sandra?" asked Bug.

"Well I just felt like a Singapore Sling and I know this place makes good ones... We'll I just needed to go out and celebrate."

"Celebrate what?" asked an inquisitive Bug.

"I got my old job back. You see I taught at a private high school here in Boston and I was laid off because none of the students wanted to take History. Then through a few acquaintances I got my job with the Port Authority." explained Sandra.

"So did you major in French in University?" asked Bug.

"Yeah, I majored both in French and History at the University of Ottawa." replied Sandra, "I bet you Detective Hoyt told you about my dating history and how he wants to finally get me settled."

"He did, but it's none of my business."

"It's more none of his business than anyone else's, but it's complicated, it's been so complicated that there was a rumor that I dated Ben Affleck!"

"I take it that's not true. I have the opposite problem of yours." admitted Bug.

"How so?" asked Sandra.

Bug couldn't believe this, someone actually cared about his problems. Where should he start to tell her? Probably he should tell her about Lily.

"Well," he started looking at his mug of beer, "There's this girl and well of course she wants another guy but he's not good enough for her, in my opinion."

"Is it the one that said 'I love you' to her beer?" guessed Sandra.

"How did you know?"

"Well if I was going to tell someone that I loved them straight to their face I would tell them in a language they wouldn't understand."

"So I guess you understand."

"Somewhat, I know how it is to pine after someone for years and they don't even know that you even have feelings for them. That happened to me, I had the biggest crush on Nick Ellis since I was like six, and when I met Joe Hayward, that all went away."

"So what happened between you and Joe if you don't mind me asking." said Bug.

"Well, okay this is a long story so we should each order another drink," she said as she was waving her hand to the bartender, "Anyway Joe and I started dating when he and I were both 17, we were steady during our last year of high school, where I was Social Convener of Students' Council and he was on the hockey team. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators, you know the NHL team, during the summer, which greatly influenced my decision to go to Ottawa for university. By the way I'm originally from Weyburn Saskatchewan. But so I got my undergrad degree in History and French and then got my Bachelor of Education there as well, so that meant Joe played for Ottawa for five years. Then he decided that he wanted a trade, Boston gave him a better offer and I decided to go with him because I loved him and he loved me. For some reason we became distant during last season, part with me and my long hours of marking essays and assignments and him going on the road all the time. So when he got the offer to play for Phoenix he decided to take it and I told him that I wasn't going to move to a place where there wasn't snow, so he left me the condo and moved to Phoenix so he could work along his idol Wayne Gretzky, who owns the Coyotes. That's it in a nutshell."

"So why stay in Boston?"

"I like the Ocean."

"You like nature?"

"Love it, I go hiking and camping all the time."

"Did you want to go hiking sometime?" asked Bug.

"I would love to Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy, how about this weekend?" replied Sandra.

"You can call me Mahesh. And as far as I know I have the weekend off."

"Ok Mahesh, it's a date. Did you want it to be a date?"

"Sure, it'll be good to get out of the city for once."

"How about I make a picnic and we can go to your favourite part of the Appalachian Trail?"

"Sounds great. Did you want to camp over night, because my favourite part is quite aways in."

"Yes, that means I can pack marshmallows." said Sandra happily.

Bug was even more happy because for the first time someone wanted to go out with him and do something that he was interested in doing and with a beautiful woman at that. They agreed to meet a her condo which was in a building three blocks north of the Medical Examiner's office. In the back of his mind Bug was a bit skeptical about her intentions with this date, was he going to be just another man in Sandra O'Leary's quest for commitment?


	3. What Was I Thinking?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes I know this chapter is super short but I've been having writer's block since I got back to University. Beaucoup de Français and History.

DISCLAIMER - I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 3 - What Was I Thinking?

_What was I thinking?_ Was the thought that dominated Bug's mind the day after he agreed to go on a date with Sandra O'Leary. He didn't think he was ready to go camping with the woman, after all he didn't seem ready to dive into a date with a woman he hardly even knew.

"What's wrong Bug?" asked a concerned Jordan.

"It's nothing." replied Bug.

"It doesn't seem like nothing."

"Well I did agree to go camping with a woman that I just met."

"That doesn't seem like you at all Bug."

"I know it doesn't seem like what everyone else expects of me. I always figured that by this time I would be married and have kids."

"I think everyone else around this place, who's our age, thinks the exact same thing. Don't worry Bug, if she's the one, you'll know."

After a long silence Jordan asked, "How did you meet her?"

"She was one of the interpreters from the Port Authority when I was on that suspicious death case with Nigel and Detective Hoyt. Anyway when Lily and I went to join you guys at the Pogue last night, she was there, she started talking to me and she was putting some of those rumours, that Detective Hoyt was telling me about, to rest." replied Bug.

"Wow Bug, how often does a beautiful woman throw herself at yourself?"

"Not often enough."

"Then go for it and see where it goes."

"I don't know what I was thinking agreeing to go camping with her."

"Bug sometimes you need to take chances, and I for one will not think any less of you for doing this."

"Yeah."

"Bug, just have a good weekend."

Bug couldn't believe that Jordan was giving him advice, he thought that she was wrapped up too much in her own life to care about anyone else. Bug grudgingly accepted the fact that he was going out with a woman who wasn't Lily.


	4. Before The Date

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for all the reviews. After watching the new shows for this season and seeing how good Bug looked, it gave me inspiration for adding more to this story. Also with all of the "fun" of my second year of university, it's been taking me awhile to update.

**Armonia** - I'm happy that you like this story so far.

**ilovebug** - You're right Bug needs to be more adventurous. That's partially why I paired him with someone who wasn't Lily...... for now. Thank you for your persistence and motivation.

**gfryffingirl77** - Thank you for your constructive criticism.

**oxygen21** - Thanks for the encouragement.

**missiemeghan** - we shall see if this fic goes in the direction you're thinking of!

DISCLAIMER - I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 4 - Before the Date

As Bug was walking down the hall from his office to the Crypt, he didn't realize that both Woody and Jordan were walking beshind him, and incidentally they went with him into the Crypt where Nigel was.

"Bug, so I've heard about your date with Sandra O'Leary." said an annoyed Woody.

"So?" asked Bug as stopped and turned to confront Woody.

"SO?" asked Woody, all in Bug's face.

"Here we go again." said Jordan as she rolled her eyes.

"So, I should be going out with Sandi O'Leary. I should be coming home to her making dinner and Woody Jr. running up to greet me and baby Anna in her crib..." stated Woody.

"You would think being a detective would give you less time to think eh Woodrow." said Nigel with a smirk.

"You're jealous that when you thought it was time to go out with her, she asked me out." replied Bug.

"He's got you there Woody." said Jordan with a smirk.

"Of course I'm jealous, jealous as hell!" shouted Woody, who was clearly frustrated.

Just then Dr. Garret Macy walked in, he did not looked pleased at all. "Jordan, Nigel, I need you to go to do some field work it's at the docks, again. And Woody, do all your shouting at the precinct. Now all of you get going, and Bug you're wanted in Conference Room One."

Bug couldn't understand why he was needed in the Conference Room, usually he was there to explain the cause of death to loved ones. It couldn't be about the Deneuve case, that was finished days ago, so what was it about? He looked in the window of the Conference Room to see Sandra O'Leary sitting there. He waited a few moments before he walked in the door, he felt a bit nervous and puzzled, he wondered what she was doing there, and why she wanted to see him. He walked in the door.

"Hi Dr. Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy. I thought I would just stop by to ask if it would be okay if we took my vehicle to the trail. I mean it's a SUV so it could store both of our things easier. Unless you would rather take your vehicle." explained Sandra.

"You know you can call me Mahesh, you don't need to be so formal." replied Bug in a very tired tone. "We can take.."

Just then Lily came through the door, "Bug, I need you to sign this." Lily asked as he handed Bug a get well card, "It's for Emmy, she had an appendectomy."

"I didn't know that Emmy had appendicitis." replied Bug as he was signing the card.

"Bug I didn't know that you were still working on the Deneuve case." said Lily as she was looking at Sandra.

"No, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that I didn't know you had a meeting with one of the translators right now."

"No, no we were just discussing what we were going to do on our date tomorrow." said Bug calmly.

"Mahesh and I are going hiking on the Appalachian Trail." interjected Sandra.

"Oh," said a disappointed Lily, "but why go hiking?"

"Because that's what Mahesh and I have in common." said a calm Sandra.

Bug could sense a bit of jealousy in Lily's voice, but he didn't know if she was jealous over him going out with a woman he hardly knew or that she was jealous that Sandra beat her to him. Bug would never know of course but he could tell that if he didn't do something, the tension in the conference room would seem more than it was right then.

"Thanks for letting me sign Emmy's card." said Bug as he handed the card back to Lily.

"Yeah no problem Bug." replied Lily as she headed out the door.

"So where were we?" Bug asked Sandra. He was feeling a bit cocky, seeing and hearing Lily's disappointment with his new love life, made him happy. He was finally happy to see Lily realize that he's not this lonely soul wandering around waiting only for her.

"About the vehicle situation, your vehicle or mine?" replied Sandra.

"We'll take mine, then I can take you to my favourite part of the trail."

The Next Day

Bug arrived at Sandra O'Leary's condo, early in the day because they both knew that the best time to look over the valleys along the Appalachian Trail are at sunset. He really wanted to get out of this date, he didn't know anything about this woman, mainly because she wasn't Lily. But Bug being the nice guy that he is, he couldn't just break off a date.

Sandra invited Bug into her condo, he sat down in a very comfy chair in the open concept condo and he could easily see into the kitchen area. There was a smell in the air that Bug didn't quite recognize, he then saw Sandra pull something out of the oven in the kitchen.

"Oatmeal raisin cookie?" offered Sandra, as she brought out a plate of cookies.

"Sure, why not." replied Bug, as he grabbed one off of the plate.

"This seems to always be a new habit of mine, baking oatmeal raisin cookies before going hiking." said Sandra with a smile.

"Why is that?" asked Bug.

"I think it was after I broke up with Joe six months ago. He always insisted that we had those energy bars with us on our hikes. I wanted something more handmade, I guess that's how I came up with making oatmeal raisin cookies." explained Sandra.

"I can't complain about that," said Bug with his mouth full of cookie.

"I take it you like them then?" asked Sandra.

Bug nodded his head, Sandra laughed.


	5. The Date

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I can't believe I have gone this long without updating this fic! I guess History and French essays are more important haha.

**ilovebug** - I'm happy that you are really enjoying this story and hopefully chapter 4 tied you over enough to greatly anticipate chapter 5!

**missiemeghan - **Another one who liked seeing Lily get jealous, this is great because I always thought that Lily would have wanted Bug if she wasn't totally involved with Garret.

**gryffingirl77** - Thank you for your positive review, it's quite funny if you see the quality of writing that I did with my first ever fanfic compared to this one you can see the detail I loved to use back then, I guess I'm more of a dialogue fiend now haha.

**Armonia -** The whole Woody thinking about his life with Sandra had been rolling around in my mind since I wrote the idea for this fic down, like back in the summer. I'm happy you enjoy the story!

**spreet **- I agree fully, we need more Bug centered stories.

**LillyLebowski **- Thank you, I will keep going even though it may seem like it takes a long time.

DISCLAIMER - I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 5 - The Date

"Ready to go?" Sandra asked Bug as she packed the last of her gear in her backpack.

"I'm ready." replied a confident Bug, as he still couldn't believe that he was actually going out on a date with a beautiful woman that he hardly knew.

"So I take it we will take your car then?" asked Sandra.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me."

They left Sandra's condo and headed for their date on the Appalachian Trail. It was a beautiful warm sunny day out and there was no chance of rain in the forecast. Bug drove them there and on the way they had the most amazing conversations about previous relationships, their families, their friends and especially their work. Sandi confided in Bug that she never intended on being a translator, instead she wanted to continue teaching and was wanting to move back to Canada because there wasn't a great need for French teachers in the States she thought. Bug also confided in Sandi that he would have moved back to Britain if he didn't become a U.S. citizen. He also revealed to her that he liked the States better than England any day, but he could tell that she was still missing her homeland, although the two countries were fairly similar.

As they were walking along the trail Sandra said something that Bug never expected.

"Mahesh, it seems like I have known you forever." said Sandra.

"Why do you say that?" asked a reluctant Bug.

"I say that because of our ease of conversation, how we can easily relate to each other. As well we basically know each other's life histories now."

"That is true, so when you were growing up on the farm did you milk a lot of cows?"

"Yeah but not the old fashioned way. Luckily there are milking machines now. You know the whole time I was seeing Lieutenant Moran, a colleague of Detective Hoyt's, he never once asked me about what it was like when I was growing up, he would go on and on about himself all the time. But enough about me, Mahesh I want to know about you. Like why do the people at the Medical Examiner's office call you Bug."

"It's because I am very knowledgeable in insects."

"I think that is very admirable considering all of the cases you must all get, I mean look at how many people die outdoors."

"Really? Most women are creeped out by that."

"Why should they be creeped out? If you want to know how someone died you have to use as many resources as possible right? And in agriculture you have to rely on entomology in order to detect which insects are a threat to your crops."

"You know you are the first woman outside of the Medical Examiner's office that I've heard say 'entomology'?"

"Really? I'm finding that hard to believe Mahesh."

"Well you better believe it. Ah here we are!" proclaimed Bug.

Bug and Sandra looked out over the most magnificent valley on the Appalachian Trail, it was five o'clock in the evening which meant that since the valley faced West they had front row seats to the most beautiful sunset ever.

"So I guess we will set up camp here?" asked Sandra, taking the view in. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her digital camera, "I need to take a picture of this."

"Yeah I normally set up camp here, although next time I think we should set up camp in the spot where there's this amazing sunrise." responded Bug.

"Aren't we doing this camping thing for two days?" asked Sandra.

"Yes and...?"

"Well we can go to that spot you were telling me about tomorrow."

"I was thinking we can do that on another camping date."

"Ah I see, I getcha. You don't want to let all of your secrets go at once. Don't worry I can wait, how patient I can be when I wait is a whole other story."

Bug was surprised that Sandra responded positively to his suggestive remark. He had a feeling that at any moment that she would not want to see him anymore. He had never been with a woman like Sandra O'Leary before and he was very cautious about how his feelings towards her would be. He was afraid of rejection, and rejection by someone he has bonded with.

That evening they feasted on pasta and other camping type foods. They watched the sun go down as their campfire roared behind them. The setting couldn't help but be romantic for a first date, a date in which both Bug and Sandra both enjoyed.

"Beautiful isn't it?" asked Sandra, facing Bug.

"It sure is." replied Bug, as he leaned in closer and closer to Sandra. He couldn't stop himself from giving her one long passionate kiss and to his surprise she didn't resist.


	6. The Boston Inquisition

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have stayed away from fanfiction for too long. I have been more motivated now in learning that this fic is in the C2 community 'Great Crossing Jordan Fanfics' I feel truly honoured. I promise no matter how long it takes to write this I will not disappoint!

DISCLAIMER - I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 6 - The Boston Inquisition

Bug arrived at the Medical Examiner's Office bright and early Monday morning. He still couldn't believe what a great time camping he had with Sandra that weekend. He wondered if any other woman would enjoy camping as much as she had, especially with him. All Bug had to wait for now was a grand interrogation led by his co-workers. He was putting all bets on Nigel to start the ball rolling and Woody to blow EVERYTHING out of proportion.

"Buggles! How was the weekend there chap? Did ya get any?" asked an inquistive Nigel.

"My weekend was fine and no I did not get any." replied Bug.

"Well you are a gentleman Bug, I know you wouldn't take advantage of a woman on the first date." said Jordan.

"Did you at least make out with her?" asked Nigel.

"Yes." replied Bug.

"Good job!" exclaimed Jordan, "To be brutally honest Bug, we were all worried about you, if the right woman would come along."

"Pfft! Right woman? Jordan don't you mean my dream woman!" fumed Woody as he walked into the room just as Jordan was finishing her sentence.

"How did I know that he was going to be here!" asked a frustrated Bug.

Poor Bug, the one time he finally goes out on a nice date with a great woman he gets torn apart by those who were supposed to be near and dear to him. A good twenty minutes went by with Woody speculating what was discussed during Bug's date with Sandra and what exactly happened during that date. Bug knew that Woody felt like he, for once in his life, lost out to an underdog, one he would least suspect of picking up a beautiful woman.

After trying to set things straight with Woody, Nigel and Jordan HAD to cut in because Woody needed A LOT of sense knocked into him, that and they really needed to get to work. Both Jordan and Nigel didn't want to see another scene like they witnessed before Bug had his date. They were both happy for him but at the same time they didn't want him to be hurt because of Woody and his ego.

A lot of Woody's arguements to Bug just seemed like he was going around in circles. He wasn't making any sense and this hurt Bug. He knew that he needed to get through Woody's interrogation of him and his relationship with Sandra but that is surely something that would be hard to do. Bug just had to focus on the next time he would see Sandra and not forget that kiss...


	7. When You Kiss Me

AUTHOR'S NOTE: TOO MUCH SCHOOL! Anyway I shall promise y'all two new chapters for Christmas!

DISCLAIMER - I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 7 – When You Kiss Me

Of course Bug could not forget about that first kiss with Sandra, it was the first time that he felt like he could get close to a woman without her dumping him the next day. That being said, Bug enjoyed the next couple of months with Sandra. They became intimate very quickly, which fuelled speculation by some of Bug's acquaintances that there would be a chance for them to make a lasting commitment to one another.

"Noooooo….." gasped Woody at the thought, as he and Jordan were in one of the examining rooms.

"You know it is a possibility." said Jordan.

"But c'mon you know that those two would never settle down together. I know Sandy O'Leary and she would go onto the next guy if she had the chance."

"Weren't you the one who said that she ended a very long term relationship with her ex-boyfriend before she started dating all the guys at the precinct?"

"Yes."

"Well don't you think that maybe she's finally found another very long term relationship? After all Bug deserves someone that he can rely on."

Reliability is what Sandra O'Leary was known for, being there for anyone. So when Bug's apartment building was sold and he was going to be forced to pay higher rent, Sandra offered for him to live with her in her two bedroom condo. There was much gossip by Bug's co-workers about this living situation; the most vocal of them all were Woody and Lily.

"I don't understand why Bug would be drawn to her, she obviously just wants him for the sake of being with him. She doesn't love him at all." said Lily as she and Woody were in a conference room.

"Who said they love each other?" replied Woody.

"I'm just assuming that he loves her because Bug has never been this happy before and I'm afraid he's going to get hurt if she's just using him."

"Ah, it's all starting to make sense. You're jealous, you want him to stay miserable the way he was."

"Woody I don't even know how you even became a detective. Did you get your badge from the cereal box and declare yourself a detective? Because you don't know me at all if you're going to be throwing out accusations like that."

All went quiet as they both could see Bug through the window of the door to the conference room; he was early for a staff meeting in that same room where Lily and Woody had gathered. There was a growing tension in the air as Bug sat down at the head of the conference table.

"I know what you two were discussing as I walked up to that door." said Bug, "You two were gossiping about my romantic life. A life that you two have no business in."

"Bug, we're your friends and we're just concerned, that's all." explained Lily.

"Yeah, Bug ol' buddy ol' pal, we just don't want to see you get burnt." said Woody.

"Pfft… You both don't care. Both of you were never gossipy hens like this when I was not seeing anyone." scoffed Bug.

"Who says that we were not gossips before?" asked Lily.

"Me." replied Garret as he entered the conference room, "This is not recess children, this is a place for professionalism. Now where are Jordan and Nigel?"

"We're here." Said Nigel as both he and Jordan were squeezing through the doorway at the same time, out of breath, "After you love."

"Thanks, Nige." said Jordan, "Uh you got a little something at the corner of your mou….. there you got it." As Nigel wiped away what appeared to be lipstick from the corner of his mouth.

Bug could not help but smirk, he could tell that there was something going on between Jordan and Nigel. Finally he wouldn't be the only one to be gossiped about, however no matter what Woody and Lily would still criticize his relationship with Sandra.


	8. Smooth Sailing

DISCLAIMER – I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 8 – Smooth Sailing

It was almost dawn, the sun was peaking over the horizon and Bug couldn't help but stare at the woman sleeping next to him. This was the kind of moment he had imagined for the longest time. He wanted a future filled with a kind, loving woman and children he could be proud to say are his own. After these past few months Bug could see himself with Sandra, having that life that he's always wanted since coming to America.

He had never been this intimate with a woman before, intimate meaning living together and sharing the same bed. He loved the fact that this was a stable relationship and she wouldn't have asked him to live with her if she didn't see the relationship as worthwhile. Bug still could not shake the fact that Lily was extremely upset with the relationship he had developed with Sandra and that she didn't think it was a good idea that he be intimate with her. He still had feelings for Lily; he could not deny this because it has been present since they had began working together at the Medical Examiner's Office.

Bug watched as Sandra started to snuggle into the comforter, he moved closer to hold her. She opened her eyes slightly looking at him with a smile and a soft giggle.

"Good morning Dr. Vijayaraghavensatanaryanamurthy." whispered Sandra.

"Good morning." whispered Bug with a smile.

"What time is it?" asked Sandra.

"It is 5:45am."

"Mmmmm…. What do you suppose we do before that alarm goes off?"

Bug and Sandra took advantage of the moment and expressed their love as the sun rose on another day.

This day however would not go as smoothly as the day began. For it would be a person from Sandra's past that would bring this seemingly perfect situation into total chaos for everyone envolved.


	9. An Unexpected Case

DISCLAIMER – I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 9 – An Unexpected Case...

Bug awoke to the sound of someone pounding on the door to Sandra's condo.

"POLICE, OPEN THE DOOR." said someone on the other side of the door.

It was three o'clock in the morning on a Saturday that Bug thought he could sleep in on. However he did not know what would possess the police to come banging on Sandra's door.

"MS. O'LEARY ARE YOU IN THERE?" asked the police.

Bug started to wonder what was going on as Sandra quickly got out of bed, put on a robe and rushed to the door. As she headed to the door she gave Bug a look of worriment not knowing what to expect. He watched as she opened the door, and saw someone familiar start to enter the apartment along with other members of the Boston Police Department.

Woody started questioning Sandra as they made their way to the sofa, she had a look of disbelief on her face and she motioned to Bug to come and sit down with her. Bug seemed a bit confused as Woody is a homicide detective and obviously he was questioning her about a murder. As he started to sit down Bug listened attentively to who this victim might be. When he heard mention of a Joe Hayward he could feel Sandra's hand tightly clasp around his.

"Now Sandra we have reason to believe that you are a suspect." said Woody calmly.

"Just because he was stabbed to death outside this building?" responded Sandra, with tears welling up in her eyes. Bug was moving to get up to get her a tissue but she held onto his hand tighter.

"Yes. Now I have to ask, were you in contact with Mr. Hayward at all this evening?"

"No. I had no idea that he was even in town."

"So you didn't watch the Bruins game tonight at all?"

"Not one minute."

Bug could not understand why the police would think that Sandra was a suspect. As far as he could tell, she didn't seem to have a grudge against her former long time boyfriend. Sure Bug saw himself as not the typical man that Sandra would go out with, he didn't know a lot about hockey and he didn't grow up on a farm. That shouldn't matter anyway, the fact of the matter was to clear her name, and he knew that she didn't do it because she was with him the entire time.

"I can't see how Sandra would do such a thing. She was with me the entire night." blurted Bug.

"But we don't know that for sure." replied Woody.

"Don't know for sure?" questioned Sandra.

"That's right, we don't know for sure if it could have been you. Oh and Bug I'm going to ask Dr. Macy that you not be anywhere around this case due to conflict of interest." explained Woody, "For right now I'm going to leave. Oh and Sandra I would get a lawyer if I were you."

"I don't need one, because I'm innocent and you know it too." replied Sandra.

The next day when Bug went into work at the Medical Examiner's office he found out that Nigel and Jordan were the ones assigned to the case. He was content with Dr. Macy's decision to have them work on the case since he trusted those two the most.

"Well Buggles, off the record it seems to us both that your bed bunny didn't kill this bloke." explained Nigel, "unless she's six-foot-three."

"She didn't look that tall to me." chimed in Jordan, "Nige and I have concluded that the angle of attack and the force used in the attack, it couldn't have been a woman, at least not your woman. Now remember this is all off the record."

"You bet I'll remember." replied Bug with a big grin.


	10. An Unexpected Confession

DISCLAIMER – I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 10 – An Unexpected Confession...

It was twenty-four hours since Bug heard the "off-the-record" results of Joe Hayward's autopsy. He kept mulling over the details of the case in his head as he headed home from work. When he came through the door he saw Sandra on the sofa watching the television intently.

"Darryl Modin, has confessed to police that he was the one who murdered Phoenix Coyotes forward Joe Hayward." stated the television newscaster, "Mr. Modin is being charged with first-degree murder and a motive has not yet been released to the media."

Sandra turned to look at Bug who was standing beside the sofa. She had tears in her eyes.

"I cannot believe that Darryl would do that to his friend. They've known eachother since, well ever. Both were on the same teams until Joey made it to the NHL, I knew that Darryl was jealous of that, but I didn't know that after all of these years he still felt the same way." explained Sandra.

"I already knew that you couldn't have killed Hayward. The evidence didn't add up for the case against you." stated Bug.

"Thanks for that encouraging news." said Sandra.

Bug couldn't believe that the person who committed the crime confessed as quickly as he did, normally it takes days, weeks, months and sometimes years to find the criminal. The guilt must have been eating Darryl Modin alive, that's the only thing Bug could figure.

Nigel, Jordan and Sandra were key witnesses in the trial against Darryl Modin in the weeks after his sudden confession. During this time since Sandra was not around as often due to the trial and to work, Bug and Lily forged a more close friendship both at work and outside of work. The outcome of the trial would conclude that Darryl Modin's motive for killing Joe Hayward was because Joe wanted to get back together with Sandra and try to convince her to live in Phoenix with him. He was jealous that Joe wanted to get back with Sandra, because he secretly loved Joe. Darryl figured that if Sandra can't have him, no one can.

This revelation came as a surprise to everyone, especially to Sandra who didn't know what to make of the situation and did not know how to handle all of the attention given to it. This caused a great strain Bug's relationship with Sandra. He found himself with Lily more and more after the results of the trial.

A week after the trial concluded Sandra had an important talk with Bug.

"Mahesh, of course you can tell that the outcome of the trial has really effected me and I can tell that you and Lily are becoming close so I think that it would be for the best if we call the whole relationship off. We had some great times and well the sex was the best I have ever had but I also think it's not fair for you to have to deal with me and my problems." explained Sandra.

"I know we've somewhat grown apart since the trial, but I do enjoy being with you and yes I have been with Lily lately. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you feel that we would be better off apart then so be it." replied Bug.

It was the hardest thing that he had to say, ever. He knew that they were going in two different directions and he realized that it wasn't fair to him the way she had been taking this whole situation. However he still felt deeply for her, she was the first woman to love him for being himself. Bug also knew that he had a better chance with Lily now and was eager to see how that relationship was going to progress.

What came as a bigger surprise to Bug was the fact that Sandra was making arrangements in order to change over the lease of the condo to Bug, she thought that he deserved a stable and nice place to live, since she was seriously considering on leaving the city and perhaps the country.


	11. Another Day, Another Victim

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since I finished my last essay for this academic year I have decided to update a couple of fanfics. This is the final chapter of "This Bug's Love Life" I thank all of you for reading and commenting on this story.

DISCLAIMER – I do not own characters appearing on "Crossing Jordan"

Chapter 11 – Another Day, Another Victim

Bug took the news of the end of his romantic relationship with Sandra O'Leary in stride. He kind of liked the idea of being single again, being able to date whomever he chose. Of course that one was going to be Lily.

As Bug entered the conference room for their morning staff meeting he would be encountering a lot of questions.

"Ah mate, too bad that you and your bed bunny didn't last a little longer." said a reassuring Nigel.

"Yeah you seemed a lot happier when you were with her." interjected Jordan, "But you look happy now too, what gives?"

"I see, you found another bird to rebound with." speculated Nigel.

"What's she like? Is she better than Sandra?" asked Jordan teasingly.

Bug didn't mind the attention that Jordan and Nigel were giving him, however he didn't know how to let them know that the new woman in his life wasn't really a new woman at all. She was someone that they all knew through the years of working with her.

"Well her name is..." before Bug could finish, Woody entered the conference room without warning as usual.

"Hey Bug there you are! I was looking all over for you. I need to know, is it true that your relationship with Sandra has fallen victim to what's been going on lately?" asked Woody.

"Yes it's true, we're done." replied Bug, "What are you really here for?"

"I was just wondering if you had any way of reaching her, seeing as how she's on the market again and all." said Woody with a smirk.

"Well Woody I don't think that you will have any problem finding her, after all you are a detective."

Nigel and Jordan couldn't help but laugh at Bug's joke.

"Well... uhhhh... Thanks for your help." said Woody as he mindlessly left the conference room.

Jordan tapped Bug's shoulder.

"Yeah?" asked Bug in response.

"So what's the name of the new woman in your life?" asked Jordan.

"Well you know the grief counsellor that works here?"

"LILY!" remarked Nigel and Jordan at once.

"Shhhh... not so loud."

"Bug as long as you are happy, that's all that matters." said Jordan.

Bug was finally happy to be with the woman he had pined for many years. Lily was a woman that was worth waiting for in Bug's eyes, because he didn't have to be someone different he could be himself, especially around her. Next time when Bug gets a call from his mother, when she asks if he's found someone he can confidently say yes, knowing it's the woman he has loved all along, Lily.


End file.
